EGM’s Top 5

Hello everyone! It is once again the time of year when I convince myself that doing a music review won’t be death upon my sanity. As much as I could spend hours going on and on about all the music I’ve loved (and hated) this year, here is a bite-sized review of my top 5 favorite songs of 2021!

Note: The songs do not have to have been released in 2021 to count towards this list; I find that my music taste would be hard to limit to a yearly format. Also, this list functions in descending order; therefore, 5 is the least favorite of my favorites. 

5. Maps - The Front Bottoms

Are “The Front Bottoms” the best band you’ve ever heard? Definitely not. A folk-punk band from Woodcliff Lake, NJ, it is undeniably one of my favorite bands of all time. Full of clever lyrics surrounding the idea of growing up, making future plans, and ultimately trying to achieve your goals even when your relationships become tangled because of your ambitions. This song has sunk into my bones. As a senior grappling with what feels like an infinitely changing reality, attempting to hang on to lifelong dreams and passions, and doing my best to adhere to my “big big plans,” I have found comfort in Brian Sella’s sweaty-palmed and awkward adolescence. 

If you like this song, check out: Skeleton - The Front Bottoms, Redo- Modern Baseball, and Romance is Boring- Los Campesinos!

4. Wasteland Baby- Hozier

Ever wanted to live out your dreams of running away to a cottage in the woods and making cookies until the warmth of the stove matches the warmth in your heart? If so, this song is for you. This song may just be the sweetest end of the world you have ever seen; as Hozier pushes a clear and warm melody over a simple plucked guitar, you might find yourself falling in love with rainy Sundays best spent in PJs with those you care about most. The lyrics paint a soft description of two people falling in love with the end of it all in the background, but is their love world ending, or is the end of the world the reason they love? Your guess is as good as mine. 

If you like this song, check out: Like Real People Do- Hozier (Ala recommends this one too), Nine in the Afternoon- Panic! at the Disco, and Shampoo Bottles- Peach Pit

3. Keep It Easy- Bears Tn Trees

A self-described “dirtbag boy-band” from South London, Bears in Trees is one band I am always excited for. I’ll be honest; I’m reluctant to place this band on this list because they’re my “I’ve been a fan since day one” band. Yet, my love for their new album and everyone smiled back (editor’s note, the title is stylized to be lowercase) continues to grow as I keep listening. Keep It Easy is an upbeat romp through attempting to, well, keep it easy. Its joyful tones and gang vocals make it feel like something to be screamed at the top of your lungs amongst friends. This song has the distinct feel of the first 50-degree day after a long cold winter; it’s not perfectly warm yet, but it’s getting there, and you’re overjoyed because of it. 

If you like this song, check out: I’m Doing Push Ups- Bears in Trees, The Moss- Cosmo Sheldrake, and Oh Yeah, You Gonna Cry- Lovejoy

2. Glitter and Crimson- All Time Low

Alright, listen, this is where my personal bias starts to be increasingly apparent. With most songs I listen to, I connect with them because of lyrical witticisms, interesting melodies, or cool production choices. Not simply because I find something relatable, see the entirety of 100gecs.  But this one? This one is entirely personal. The lyrics tell the story of a hidden and closeted pair of lovers, choosing to risk it all by coming out and fighting for their right to love openly. The singer knows that if they let the “sunshine fade,” everything good they’ve got is likely to be washed down the drain. I first heard this song while learning to drive down a nearly empty highway during the early pandemic, and while tinged in the empty sadness of April 2020, I swear I can still feel the sun through the windshield when I hear it. Clover, this one’s for you. 

If you like this song, check out: Backseat Serenade- All Time Low, Fourth of July- Fall Out Boy, and Voldemort- With Confidence

1. You would Be Paranoid Too (If Everyone Was Out to Get You)- Waterparks

Waterparks have been the top artist on my Spotify Wrapped for two years in a row. I crowd surfed for the first time at their NYC show on November 25th, 2019, an experience I would later craft into my college essay. On November 5th, 2021, I was lucky to see them and crowd surf again. Two years later, I had learned to take every second for granted, and I wasn’t going to waste my chance.  As the crowd once again lifted me, I felt my heart swell. This song was playing loud enough to damage my hearing, I was sweaty from being crammed into the pit, and I knew my makeup must have been melting off my face, but none of that mattered. I was flying, singing, laughing, and honestly just trying not to fall. Regardless of my opinions on this artist in the future, I cannot deny the astronomical impact they’ve had on my high school career. 

If you like this song, check out: Lowkey as H*ll- Waterparks, Planetary Go!- My Chemical Romance, and Choke- I Don’t Know How but They Found Me

And that’s a wrap! I hope this list helps you find something new to listen to as we enter 2022 or reminds you of an old favorite. I know I can’t wait to see what next year brings! 

P.S. 

Interested in hearing more? Here are a few Honorable mentions (in no particular order): Sofia- Clairo, Coals- Modern Baseball, Karma- MODSUN, Perfume- Lovejoy, Alrighty Aphrodite- Peach Pit, Kenny- Still Woozy, Heatwaves- Glass Animals, Passerine- The Oh Hello’s 26- Caamp